United States Private Colleges Ranked by Lowest Acceptance Rate
Below is a ranking of the 1198 private colleges in the United States with the lowest acceptance rate for freshman undergraduate applications. California Institute of Technology leads the list by accepting 3% of high school students that applied.
Acceptance rate is a measure of the competitiveness of a school. Lower acceptance rates are more competitive and may require a higher GPA, SAT/ACT score, and other factors to be considered for admission.
| College | Acceptance Rate |
|---|---|
|
Yeshivath Beth Moshe
Scranton, Pennsylvania |
100% |
|
Northpoint Bible College
Haverhill, Massachusetts |
100% |
|
Southern Wesleyan University
Central, South Carolina |
100% |
|
Morris College
Sumter, South Carolina |
100% |
|
Voorhees University
Denmark, South Carolina |
100% |
|
Sinte Gleska University
Mission, South Dakota |
100% |
|
American Baptist College
Nashville, Tennessee |
100% |
|
Bryan College Dayton
Dayton, Tennessee |
100% |
|
Pentecostal Theological Seminary
Cleveland, Tennessee |
100% |
|
Welch College
Gallatin, Tennessee |
100% |
|
King University
Bristol, Tennessee |
100% |
|
Lane College
Jackson, Tennessee |
100% |
|
Amberton University
Garland, Texas |
100% |
|
Arlington Baptist University
Arlington, Texas |
100% |
|
Jarvis Christian University
Hawkins, Texas |
100% |
|
Our Lady of the Lake University
San Antonio, Texas |
100% |
|
Southwestern Christian College
Terrell, Texas |
100% |
|
Texas College
Tyler, Texas |
100% |
This list is updated annually based on the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Last updated: August 2026
Data source: IPEDS 2025 survey for academic year 2024/2025 - National Center for Education Statistics.